The Fourth
by Jillian Lanner
Summary: This is my version of season 3 but Emma is still there and there is no Bella. Better summary inside. Please read and review!
1. Summary

Avery's mom is a marine biologist who just got a job at the Australian Institute of Marine Life in Gold Coast, Australia. This means that they have to move...again. This angers Avery to a boiling point. So the day that Avery, her mom, and her twin brother Spencer finally arrive at their new house, Avery takes her and her brother's new speed boat out and strands herself on Mako Island. Minutes after she reaches the small beach on the island, it starts to storm really bad. So Avery decides to head inland in search of shelter from the raging storm. Where she finds and falls into a strange cave among the rocks. In the cave she finds the moon pool and after being startled by a loud noise, accidentally backs up one step too far and falls into the pool right as the moon centers itself in the volcano's cone. When the water started to bubble and glow Avery is frightened and immediately gets out of the pool and edges to the back left corner on the cave where she finds a small black bag with something hard inside it. Avery then stuffs the bag in her pocket and quickly scrambles out of the cave and back to her boat where she curls up and falls asleep. The next morning, Avery woke up to the sound of three different female voices. Not knowing who the voices belonged to and realizing that she was still on the island, Avery jerked awake and tried to sit up but instead flipped out of the boat and into the sand. When she looks up after falling face-first into the sand, she sees three girls about the same age as her staring at her in disbelief. When Avery notices that they are standing a little farther behind her, she turns over and discovers that she has a mermaid tail! The three girls, who are Emma, Cleo, and Rikki; explain that they are mermaids too and that they want to help her. But Avery insists that she doesn't need their help. When Avery finally gets home, she finds out that the bag that she had found in the cave contains a locket just like Emma, Cleo, and Rikki's along with a small note. The note explains that the locket belonged to Gracie's little sister Ellie, who had followed her sister to Mako one full moon(a few months after Gracie, Julia, and Louise became mermaids) and Ellie became a mermaid also. When Gracie found out, she had Max make a fourth locket with a green gem and FOUR waves on the back instead of three. About four months after Ellie had became a mermaid, she died(she was thirteen). So after Ellie died, Gracie put her little sister's locket in a black jewelry bag with a note and set it in the back left corner of the moon pool as a memorial for Ellie. After that, Gracie asked that none of them talk about Ellie because it was too painful for them to talk about. So that is why Miss Chatham or Max never said anything about Ellie to Emma, Cleo, Rikki, or Lewis. But when they show Miss Chatham Eliie's locket that Avery found, she tells them all about Ellie. This seems to help Emma, Cleo, and RIkki accept Avery as mermaid more and the foursome is created when Avery agrees to join the group.


	2. Chapter 1:The Move, the Island, the Pool

**Chapter 1: The, Move, the Island, and the Pool**

"We're here!" Avery's mom, Dr. Johnson, called as their car pulled into the driveway of their new house in Gold Coast, Australia.

"Yay." Avery mumbled in a low sarcastic tone as she got out of the car and started to walk around the house. As she walked around to the back of the house, she saw a medium-sized pool and a small jacuzzi right outside the back door. Behind the pool, was a very small dock that reached out a little ways into the coastal waters; but what really caught Avery's eye was a small, blue Zodiac speed boat tied up there with a big red bow on it. Avery walked up to it and read the card attached to the bow. Apparently, the Zodiac was a gift to Avery and her twin brother Spencer. Avery just rolled her eyes after reading the card and went into the house through the back door.

Just mom's way of trying to lessen the blow of another big move, Avery thought, aggravated at the idea as she made her way up the stairs to the second floor of the house to look for her new room. As she turned into the hallway at the top of the stairs, she saw a bright-pink door with a sign on it that read: "Avery's Room."

"I hate pink." Avery groaned to herself as she opened her door and walked in the room. To her horror, every single thing in her room was pink.

"Nice room, 'princess.'" Spencer laughed, walking up behind his twin sister, trying so hard not to burst out laughing. At Spencer's sarcastic remark, Avery turned around and smacked him hard in the gut. This caused Spencer to lose it completely and burst out laughing. After giving Spencer an evil look, Avery stormed out of the room and down the stairs in search of her mother. When Avery went outside, she found her mom unloading things out of the car. Avery just stood beside her mom with her arms crossed and an angry scowl on her face.

"So, do you like your new room?" her mom asked as she pulled things out of the trunk of the car.

"No, I hate it." Avery told her mom bluntly in a quiet, aggravated tone. Noticing the anger in Avery's tone, her mom stopped what she was doing, turned around, and looked Avery in the eye.

"Look sweetie, I know you're really mad at me about the move and everything, but I really think that you should give this place a try." Her mom replied in a pleading tone, "Why don't you take the new Zodiac out for a spin and Spencer and I will finish unpacking."

"Fine," Avery agreed somewhat reluctantly, taking the key to the Zodiac from her mom and heading out back to the Zodiac. As she climbed into the Zodiac, she ripped the big bow off of it and turned the boat on. Then, she untied the boat from the dock and took off out to sea. She drove the Zodiac farther and farther away from the shore, thinking about everything that had happened in the last month until she had ran out of fuel not too far from a strange-looking island. Seeing as she had nowhere else she could go but the island, Avery paddled over to the island. Once there, she pulled the Zodiac up onto the sand.

"Great, now I'm stranded on some creepy island." Avery muttered to herself as she sat down in the sand next to her boat. Avery stared out into the water, wondering how she was going to get home. It was getting late, and the sun had already set. Avery just sat in the sand for about an hour and a half until it started to rain extremely hard and the thunder started up. As the storm got worse, Avery decided to head inland in search of shelter from the raging storm. It didn't take long for her to become drenched from head to toe. Thunder boomed and flashes of lightning lit up the dark night sky as Avery weaved in and out of the trees. After ten minutes of running through the trees, Avery finally came to a large clearing with large rocks in a bunch. Hoping to find a cave somewhere among those rocks, Avery climbed on and around the rocks until she finally came to a cave entrance. Suddenly, a flash of lightning lit up everything and for a split second, Avery could see that the cave's entrance was a steep slide down. She didn't want to get stuck down there, but it was the only cave big enough for her to fit in. Not sure what to do, Avery stopped to think about it. Seconds later, a big bolt of lightning came out of the sky and struck the boulder right next to Avery, causing her to jump and slide right down into the cave, head first. On the way down, she hit her head on a rock that stuck out from the cave wall; and with that, she was out like a light.

Hours later, Avery awoke at the bottom of the cave entrance. She had an extremely bad headache and the bottom of her right pant leg was ripped off. Avery glanced up through the entrance of the cave and saw that the storm had ceased. Then she glanced around the cave for anything that could help her up, when she spotted a large opening near the back of the cave. It looked like a blue light was reflecting from the other side of the cave. So curiously, Avery got up and headed over to and walked through the opening to find another side of the cave. This side of the cave was bigger and had a small pool that looked about the size of two or more Jacuzzis, sitting under the cone of a volcano. Avery smiled and stared at the pool in awe. The place looked so amazing, beautiful; and at the same time, magical. Just then, a loud noise came from the other side of the cave, which made Avery jump and turn toward the direction in which the noise came from. She back away from the opening to the other side of the cave, not sure if the noise came from something just dropping into the cave or a large hungry animal that might've inhabited the cave. Then, after backing up one step too far, Avery slipped and fell into the pool. As she surfaced in the pool, the water started to bubble and glow. Panicking at this point, Avery tried to climb out of the pool, but to no avail. Only after the water had stopped bubbling was she able to climb out of the pool. She scrambled out of the pool and over to the back left corner of the cave, a little freaked out by what had happened. Avery sat huddled in the corner of the cave, shaking.

I have to get out of here, she thought to herself, eyeing the pool, frightened. Maybe if Irun fast enough, I can get out of this cave in one piece. But right before she was about to run, She felt her hand hit something small, hard, but at the same time, soft. Curiously, she picked up the object and held it in her lap. It was a small, black bag. It had something small, yet hard inside. It looked like an old jewelry bag that was at least fifty years old. Avery rolled the bag around in her hands and figured that there was either a small bracelet or a necklace inside the bag; and maybe also a small piece of paper with it. So, figuring she'll look at it later, Avery tucked the bag in her front, right-side pocket, and then stood up. Slowly, she crept her way back to the opening to the first side of the cave. After poking her head in to check if something was in the other side of the cave, Avery dashed to and up the cave entrance as fast as she could. She barely made it out, having almost slipped at the top, but she was out. With a sigh of relief, Avery ran the whole way back through the trees to the beach where her boat was. Exhausted from running, Avery climbed into her boat and laid down. As the wind blew, she shivered; being completely drenched and cold. She curled up into a ball, trying her hardest to stay warm. She wanted to go home so badly, but it was too dark to see farther than two feet in front of her. So Avery just laid curled up in her boat and slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

~_The Next Morning~_

Avery was just starting to wake up when she felt the warm rays of the sun beating down on her. Although, that wasn't the only thing she felt. She also felt a presence behind her; presences as if a group of people were standing behind her. Then, Avery heard whispering from the same direction that the "presence" was in. Finally, about a minute or two after all of this, Avery jerked awake and tried to sit up; but instead of sitting up, she flipped out of the boat and fell face first into the sand.

"Are you OK?" one of the voices asked her. The voice was definitely female. It had a soft tone to it and the accent was, without a doubt, Australian. Avery didn't answer the voice, she was too busy wiping all of the sand off her face. Once she had gotten all of the sand off her face, Avery looked up to see three girls standing in front of her. The girl with the long, brown, curly hair was crouched down in front of Avery with a look of concern on her face. The other two girls stood behind her with curious and, at the same time, surprised looks.

"What's going on? Who the heck are you?" Avery questioned in a somewhat rude tone, giving the three girls a weird look. As she asked her questions, Avery tried to stand up but it was like her legs weren't working. In fact, her legs felt longer, stuck together, and sort of floppy.

"Well who the heck are you?" the girl with the curly, pale-blonde hair snapped back.

"Rikki! Don't be rude!" the girl with the straight blonde hair whispered loudly to the other. Then she turned back to Avery and introduced, "I'm Emma."

Cleo," the girl with the brown hair introduced with a cheerful and friendly smile.

"I'm Avery." Avery introduced flatly, still trying to figure out why it was that she could not stand up. "Ugh! Why can't I stand up?"

"You mean, you don't know yet?" Emma asked curiously as Cleo stood back up and moved over beside Rikki.

"Know what yet?" Avery questioned without a clue as to what she Emma was talking about.

"That you're a mermaid." Cleo answered, pointing in the direction that Avery's legs were supposed to be. Not sure what she was talking about, Avery turned to look at where Cleo was pointing and saw that her legs were no longer there, but in their place was a long, gold mermaid tail.

"Wha_? Where the_? When did this happen?!" Avery demanded in a panicky tone, her voice cracking as she spoke as she stared at her tail in utter shock. "Are you three__?"

"Yes, we're mermaids too." Emma replied with a nod, pointing to Cleo, Rikki, and herself.

"Well then, how do I make this tail go away?" Avery asked in a shaky voice, still staring at her tail in shock and more interested in how to get rid of her tail at the moment.

"You change back to normal when you're dry." Cleo explained with a smile.

"Well that'll take too long! I have to get home now!" Avery groaned, slapping the sand in frustration.

"Don't worry," Emma assured her, shaking her head. "Rikki can dry you off."  
"How?" Avery asked doubtfully, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows at Emma. Without a word, Rikki bent down next to Avery. She held her right hand out over Avery's tail, then she started to curl her fingers slowly into a fist; and as she did, all of the remaining water that was on Avery evaporated and her tail changed back into her legs. "How'd you do that?!" Avery questioned Rikki in shock, standing up and brushing the sand off of herself.

"Magic." Rikki replied simply, crossing her arms and grinning as she walked over and stood beside Cleo again.

"We all got powers when we became mermaids." Emma explained, gesturing to herself, Cleo, and Rikki. "I can freeze water and make it snow; Rikki can boil and evaporate water and control lightning; and Cleo can move water and control wind."

"So, am I going to get a power?" Avery wondered curiously, raising her eyebrows and crossing her arms.

"Mostlikely, but it might take a while for you to figure out what it is." Cleo answered with a nod and a shrug.

_~Two Hours Later~ _

Avery drove the Zodiac to a small dock behind her new house and tied it up, being careful not to get the smallest drop of water on herself as she did so. Once she was sure that it was tied up good and tight, she took the key out of the ignition and stuck it in her pocket as she hopped out of the boat. Thinking about everything that had happened on Mako Island, which was what the girls had told her it was called, Avery made her way past the pool to the back door. Not even two seconds after Avery had opened the door did her mom pull her in the house and squeeze her tightly.

"Where have you been?!" her mom demanded, relieved to see her daughter. "Your brother and I have been up all night looking for you!" Dr. Johnson held her daughter tightly in an embrace for several minutes, so happy that Avery was back and alright.

"Sorry mom, I ran out of gas at some weird island and I didn't know that there was an emergency gas container." Avery explained through gasps of breath due to the fact that her mother was squeezing her so hard.

"Well you had me scared to death!" her mom told her, finally letting Avery go and looking her in the eye. Avery examined her mother. She did indeed look as though she had been up all night. Her hair was a mess, and she looked as though she had been wearing the same clothes for three days. But when Avery looked into her mother's eyes, she saw concern and relief. "From now on Avery, I don't want you using the Zodiac unless Spencer is with you."

"What?!" Avery exclaimed in disbelief. "It's not like I purposely got myself stranded!" Avery jerked away from her mother angrily and crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry Avery, but I don't want anything like this to happen again. So give me the key to the boat." Her mom demanded, holding out her hand for the key.

"Fine. Whatever." Avery muttered angrily, pulling the key to the Zodiac out of her pocket and slapping it down into her mom's hand as hard as she could. Then Avery stormed up the stairs and into her room, slamming her door behind her and locking it. When Avery turned around she saw that everything in her room was disarray. There were tons of boxes, as well as a few bags, scattered around her room. The only thing that looked in the slightest way neat was her bed. So, having no other place roomy or comfortable enough to sit and think, Avery flopped onto her bed on her back. She couldn't believe that her mom wasn't allowing her to use the Zodiac by herself because she accidentally got herself stranded on an island. It was just so unfair! Although, when Avery thought about it, it really wouldn't matter anymore. Now that she was a mermaid, she could pretty much swim to anywhere she could go with the Zodiac. But Avery wasn't even sure that she liked the idea of her turning into a mermaid whenever she got wet. It was all just too weird to her and, at the same time, kind of scary. With everything that at happened to her in the last two days, Avery decided that she needed some rest. So she got up and searched through a few boxes until she found the one containing her nightclothes. As Avery was changing out of her pants, she felt a small lump in her front right-side pocket. Not quite remembering what it was, Avery reached into her pocket and pulled out the black bag that she had found in the back corner of the cave with the pool. Avery set the bag on her bed for a minute and finished changing into her nightclothes. Once she was done changing, Avery grabbed the bag and flopped back onto her bed again. When Avery opened the bag, she found a beautiful silver locket with an emerald jewel on it; but what was interesting about the locket was that it looked exactly like the lockets that Emma, Cleo, and Rikki had been wearing when she met them. Curiously, Avery picked up the locket and turned it over. It had four waves carved onto the back of it. Admiring the locket, Avery put it on and looked in the mirror. There was no doubt that the locket suited her well. After examining the locket, Avery turned her attention back to the little black bag and saw a small, old-looking piece of paper still in it. Curious to know what it said, Avery unfolded it and read:

We lay this locket her as a memorial for Ellie, who was a wonderful sister, mermaid, and friend. We bid her farewell as she is no longer here with us; and even though she is no longer with us, she will live on in our memories and our hearts. We love you and miss you Ellie.

Gracie, Louise, Julia, Max

After reading the note, Avery had so many questions running through her mind. Were these people that had written this note mermaids from some other decade a long time ago? What was with the lockets? And how many lockets are there all together? These questions raced through her mind as Avery laid down on her bed and stared up at the roof.

"Maybe this whole mermaid thing is bigger than I thought." Avery whispered aloud with a sigh. Maybe Emma, Cleo, and Rikki knew more about the lockets and the people in the note. It made sense to her. After all, they all have lockets identical to the one that she had found. "I'll ask them next time I see them." she decided as she covered up with her blankets and laid her head on her pillow. Right now, she was too tired to think straight. So Avery closed her eyes and almost immediately fell asleep.

_~Noon the Next Day~ _

Avery spent the whole morning searching nearby beaches, shops, and streets for Emma, Cleo and Rikki. Unfortunately, Avery couldn't find them anywhere so she went back home. Sometime in between the time that Avery had left the house that morning and the time she got back, her mom had left for work. Spencer on the other hand, was laying out by the pool on a lounge chair. So Avery joined him and sat in the lounge chair next to him. It was very hot outside and if Spencer weren't there, Avery would've jumped straight into the pool; but Avery wasn't sure if she should let Spencer know about her now being a mermaid.

"Aren't you going to get in the pool or are you going to just sit there and sweat to death?" Spencer asked after a long period of silence, raising his eyebrows at his twin sister.

"I'll go swimming later." Avery told him simply, closing her eyes and just soaking up the sun. "I'm too tired right now."

"Aren't you the one that always bugged mom to go swimming when we lived in Florida?" Spencer questioned, somewhat suspicious that Avery was hiding something from him.

"So? It's not like I want to go swimming _all _the time." Avery retorted smartly, not opening her eyes. Silence followed her comment. Then suddenly, Spencer snuck over beside his sister, picked her up, and carried her over to the edge of the pool. "SPENCER!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! PUT ME DOWN!" Avery screamed, staring down at the water in the pool, scared that Spencer was going throw her into the pool and discover what she now was.

"Come on Av, a little water won't hurt you." Spencer assured her, laughing.

"No Spencer! Put me down or I will beat the crap out of you!" Avery warned him, still staring down at the water and gripping her brother's shoulders tightly.

"Okay, okay." Spencer surrendered, rolling his eyes and turning around. As he turned around, Avery loosened her grip on his shoulders; and right before he was about to set her down, Spencer quickly turned back toward the pool and threw Avery into the water. Avery hit the water with a big splash and when she had resurfaced she knew that she wouldn't be able to hide before her legs became a tail. So she just looked up at her brother, who was laughing hysterically at her, with a very worried and pleading look.

"Spencer. There's something I think you need to know." Avery told him in a serious tone. Spencer just shook his head at her, thinking she was messing with him, and continued laughing. Seconds later, Avery's legs had morphed together and became her long, gold mermaid tail. At the sight of Avery's tail, Spencer immediately stopped laughing, eyes widened, and his mouth fell open in shock. "Please don't tell anyone. Not even mom." Avery pleaded, swimming over to the edge of the pool where her brother was.

"When did this happen?!" Spencer demanded, his voice cracking as he spoke, still staring at Avery's tail.

"That night I got stranded on that island." Avery answered, still worried about what Spencer was going to do now that he knew about her secret. "Now promise me you won't tell anyone; not even mom."

Spencer looked from his sister's long fish tail, to the pleading expression on her face, then replied, "I promise."

Relieved by her brother's answer, Avery smiled for the first time in three weeks. About an hour or two later, Avery was out of the pool, completely dry, and her and Spencer went back into the house where Avery told him everything that happened while she was on Mako Island.


	3. Chapter 2: More About the Locket

**Chapter 2: More About the Locket**

"So when are you going to show me the place that turned you into a fish?" Spencer asked impatiently as him and Avery climbed out of the blue Zodiac and headed into the JuiceNet Cafe.

"Later. Now quit bugging me." Avery told him in an aggravated tone as the twins walked up to the counter. To Avery's surprise, Emma was standing right behind the counter. "Emma? Is that you?"

"Avery! Hi!" Emma greeted with a big smile. "How's it going?"

"OK, I guess. Where were you yesterday?" Avery questioned in a very curious tone. "I looked everywhere for you guys yesterday."

"Oh, sorry. We were at my house most of the morning, then we went to____." Emma cut off and her eyes shifted from Spencer to Avery. Avery gave Emma a strange look, then suddenly realized why she was eyeing her and Spencer.

"Oh, it's OK. He knows." Avery informed her, shaking her head. "He sorta saw for himself yesterday. Don't worry, he won't tell anybody about it." Emma nodded without saying a word, looking a bit unsure about it; but before she had any time to answer, Cleo came up behind Avery.

"Hi Avery! Hi Emma!" Cleo greeted happily with a smile, stopping beside Avery.

"Hi Cleo. Could I talk to you and Avery for a second?" Emma asked, pointing over to the side. Cleo gave Avery a confused look and Avery just shrugged, then the both of them followed Emma.

"Avery, I don't think that that guy knowing is such a good idea." Emma whispered, once they were far away from Spencer. Avery gave Emma a shocked look and placed her hands on her hips.

"What?! He's my twin brother for crying out loud! If there's anyone I can trust with this secret it's him!" Avery whispered loudly, raising her eyebrows at Emma.

"You're twins?" Cleo repeated in surprise. "I thought you two were boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Ew! No way!" Avery replied, grimacing at the very idea that her and Spencer were a couple.

"Well twin or no twin, I still don't know if I trust him." Emma told her, glancing over at Spencer and crossing her arms.

"Well, you're gonna have to. He already knows." Avery snapped angrily; and with that said, she wheeled around and stormed back over to Spencer and dragged him out of the cafe,

"Is it just me or does Avery remind kinda remind you of Rikki?" Cleo asked as her and Emma watched Avery storm out of the cafe.

_~With Avery and Spencer~_

"Wait! What happened? What'd they say?!" Spencer questioned loudly as Avery dragged him out of the cafe.

"Apparently, they don't trust you!" Avery complained angrily as she continued to drag her brother back to their boat.

"Av, stop!" Spencer shouted at her, pulling his arm out of her grip. At this Avery stopped, turned around to face her brother, and crossed her arms. Her bright green eyes burned with anger as she looked her brother in the eyes; Spencer's green eyes were filled with confusion. "Did you tell them that I was your brother?" he asked her calmly.

"Yes, and they still don't trust you!" Avery replied frustratedly, pushing her long black hair out of her eyes.

"Why not?" Spencer questioned, becoming a little frustrated about the situation also. Avery was just about to answer Spencer's question when she heard someone call her name. The voice sounded as though it were coming from behind Spencer. Upon hearing the voice, Avery turned her attention in the direction the voice was coming from and saw Cleo running toward her and Spencer.

"Avery, don't worry about Emma." Cleo told her, stopping next to Avery. "She doesn't trust people very much. You sort of have to earn it."

"Well, Spencer and I don't need her trust." Avery snapped, shaking her head with a smirk. As Avery shook her head, Cleo spotted something silver hanging around Avery's neck. It was a locket; but not just an ordinary locket, it was identical to hers, Emma's, and Rikki's lockets! The only thing that Cleo saw that was different was the color of the gem. It wasn't and purplish-blue, white, or red; it was an emerald green.

"Where'd you get that locket?" Cleo asked eagerly, pointing at Avery's locket in surprise. Avery glanced down at her locket, then back at Cleo.

"Mako Island." Avery answered simply, a little confused by Cleo changing the subject. "In the cave with the pool."

"Can you show me?" Cleo wondered excitedly, pointing out into the water.

"Sure." Avery agreed with a shrug, her and Cleo starting to walk down to the edge of the docks. "Sorry Spence, I'll meet ya at home!" Avery called back to her brother. With that said, Cleo and Avery both dove head-first into the water an swam off toward Mako. As Avery and Cleo swam toward Mako, Avery realized that this was the first time that she had swam in the ocean as a mermaid. The feeling was nothing short of amazing. She felt weightless and free; as though all her troubles were gone, never to return again. Several minutes later, Cleo and Avery surfaced in the moon pool.

_Wow! That was amazing! _Avery thought happily, a big grin erupting on her face.

"So where did you find the locket?" Cleo asked as her and Avery swam over to the edge of the pool, completely oblivious to the look on Avery's face.

"In the back left corner." Avery replied, pointing over to where she had found the bag containing the locket and at the same time, trying to contain her excitement. "It was in a little black bag, and it had a note with it." she explained as her and Cleo climbed up and out of the pool.

"What did the note say?" Cleo questioned curiously as she used her power to lift the remaining water off her and Avery's tails.

"I don't remember all of it, but I know it mentioned some girl named Ellie, and I think there was someone else named Gracie." Avery recalled, scrunching up her nose as she tried to remember what the note said. As Avery tried to remember more about the note, her and Cleo's tails disappeared and the two of them stood up. "I know there were four people that signed the note..."

"Could one of them have been someone named Louise?" Cleo wondered, curious to know if the note was from the three mermaids from the fifties.

"I think so. I have the note in my pocket." Avery remembered with a small nod, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the note. She unfolded it and nodded her head, "Yep. It's signed Gracie, Julia, Louise, and Max."

"Wow! What does it say?" Cleo asked eagerly, walking over beside Avery and looking over her shoulder at the note. "Wow! It's just who I thought it was!"

"What do you mean? Who is it?" Avery questioned almost immediately after Cleo had finished talking. She wanted to know so badly what the note meant and who it was from. It looked like she would finally know.

"Well, you know how Emma, Rikki, and I all have lockets just like the one you'd found?" Cleo asked. Avery nodded, grabbing a hold of her own locket and starting to play with it. "Well, they belonged to a group of three mermaids from the fifties. Of course, we had been told that there were only three of them; so now yours changes things."

"Who told you about the three mermaids from the fifties?' Avery inquired, becoming more and more interested in what Cleo was telling her with every passing second.

"Louise and Max." Cleo told her, starting to pace back and forth in front of the moon pool. Avery raised her eyebrows in surprise at Cleo's answer.

"You mean Louise and Max from the note?" Avery questioned, pointing at the note, eyebrows still raised. Cleo looked over at Avery with a small grin and nodded in reply. "This is too cool." Avery thought aloud, shaking her head and smiling.

"I've got to tell Emma and Rikki about this." Cleo added, pulling out her phone and sending both Emma and Rikki text messages telling them to meet her at the moon pool immediately. About two minutes later, Emma and Rikki surfaced in the moon pool.

"What's so important?" Emma asked Cleo as her and Rikki pulled themselves out of the pool and Rikki dried their tails off. Once they were both dry their tails changed back into their legs and they both went over and sat down next to Avery and Cleo.

"OK, so you know how we thought that there were only three mermaids from the fifties?" Cleo started explaining. Rikki and Emma exchanged confused then nodded in reply to Cleo's question. Cleo then glanced over at Avery then continued, "Well there was a fourth."

"What?!" Emma and Rikki exclaimed in unison.

"How do you know?" Rikki questioned, her eyebrows raised and a shocked look on her face.

"Well, the first time I was in the moon pool I found a small black jewelry bag in the back corner of the cave. So I took it home and when I opened the bag, I found this locket and a note." Avery explained, taking her locket off and showing Emma and Rikki both the locket and the note that she found with it.

"Wow! It's exactly like ours!" Emma commented, examining the front of Avery's locket while Rikki read over the note. After Emma had thoroughly examined the front of the locket, she turned it over and gasped when she noticed that instead of just three waves on the back, there were four. "Guys look at this!" Emma exclaimed, motioning to Cleo and Rikki to look. When they too saw that there were four waves on the back of Avery's locket, they both gasped also.

"What is it?" Avery questioned curiously, glancing at each of the girls, dying to know what was so interesting about the back of her locket.

"Our lockets only have three on the back, but yours has four!" Emma told Avery in an excited tone, handing Avery her locket back.

"So who's sister do you think Ellie could be?" Cleo wondered as Rikki passed the note to Emma. Emma read over the note a few times then gave it also back to Avery.

"Maybe we should ask Miss Chatham." Rikki suggested with a shrug, glancing at each of the others.

"Who's that?" Avery asked, putting her locket back on and tucking the note back in her pocket.

"Louise, from the note." Emma answered, then turned back to Cleo and Rikki and added, "I wonder why she never told us about this..."

"I'll call her tonight and see if she can come talk to us tomorrow." Cleo told them with a small nod, then she turned to Avery. "Do you think that you could meet us at Emma's house tomorrow at two?"

"I don't know where her house is." Avery reminded her, shaking her head.

"Oh yeah, that's right. Well, then meet me at the JuiceNet at one forty-five and we'll walk there." Cleo solved with a small smile and a nod. Avery nodded in agreement as Cleo, Emma, and Rikki stood up.

"Well alright. Now that that's solved, I have to go meet Zane." Rikki told them, wiping the sand off her skirt.

"And I have to go meet Lewis. So, I'll see you guys later." Cleo added, also wiping the sand off of herself. With that said, both Cleo and Rikki dove into the moon pool and swam out. Once those two were gone, Emma turned to Avery.

"Are you coming?" Emma asked, noticing that Avery was still sitting in the sand and staring at the water in the pool.

"No, I need some time to think." Avery replied, shaking her head and not taking her eyes off the pool. Assuming that Avery was still mad at her for not trusting her brother, Emma sat back down across from Avery.

"Look, I know your probably mad at me for not trusting your brother with our secret," Emma started, looking down at the sand in front of her.

"That's not it." Avery interrupted in a somewhat quite and calm tone, shaking her head and looking up at Emma. "It's this whole thing. I mean, it's not like I asked for this to happen to me. I was a champion free-diver and now I just have to give it all up!"

"I know how that feels." Emma told her with a nod. "I was the champion swimmer until I became a mermaid."

"Yeah, but what makes it worse is that my mom is a marine biologist and if she found out, that'd be the end of it." Avery added on, thinking about what her mom would do if she did find out.

"Well don't worry. Cleo, Rikki, and I are here for you if you need any help or if you have any questions." Emma assured her with a smile, tucking her long straight blonde hair behind her ears as she spoke. "You're one of us now."

"Right." Avery mumbled flatly, pushing her long black hair out of her face and standing up. "I'll see you later." Avery told her and with that, Avery dove into the pool and swam away.

_~Later with Emma, Cleo, and Rikki~_

"So did you talk to her?" Cleo asked Emma as the three girls walked back to Cleo's house.

"Yeah," Emma answered simply with a small nod.

"And?" Cleo questioned, raising her eyebrows. "What did she say?"

"Well, she's not too happy with the whole mermaid thing." Emma replied, sticking her thumbs in her pockets and looking down at her feet. "I think she's scared of it all."

"I don't even see why we're helping her." Rikki commented, shaking her head. "I mean, remember what happened last time there was a fourth mermaid in our group?"

"Yeah, but that was _way _different Rikki, and you know it." Cleo argued, giving Rikki that 'come on' sort of look.

"Maybe, but come on guys. It still doesn't feel right with four of us." Rikki retorted with a shrug.


	4. Chapter 3: Ellie's Story

*****Sorry it has taken so long for me to upload this chapter. I haven't had much spare time lately and I am running out of ideas. If anyone has any ideas for this please PM them to me or put it in a review. Please I need some ideas!!! I've got real bad writers block right now. Thank you all for being so patient with waiting for me to post this and thank you for all the great reviews!!! Enjoy!!!*****

**Chapter 3: Ellie's Story**

Avery pulled herself in-between a bunch of rocks on a secluded part of the beach; there was nobody there so Avery found it was the best place for her to dry off at. Since Avery had still not discovered her powers, she had to just wait. After about fifteen minutes of waiting, Avery was starting to become impatient. It was going to take forever for her to dry off! Aggravated, Avery groaned and slapped the sand. All of the sudden, the water that remained on her had started to evaporate, which caused Avery to jump. At first, she wasn't sure what was going on. Then, she remembered about Rikki's power. Rikki could boil and evaporate water. Maybe she had gotten the same power! So Avery curled up her fingers into a fist, as Rikki did when she used her power, and all of the water that remained on Avery's tail evaporated and her tail changed back into her legs. Avery then stood up, brushed the sand off of herself and started to walk home. Not even two seconds after Avery had walked in the front door did Spencer run up to her.

"So, what happened? What'd they tell you? When are you going to take me to that island?" Spencer asked excitedly, talking so fast that Avery almost couldn't understand what he was saying.

"Later." Avery replied in a huff, rolling her eyes and pushing Spencer out of her way and making her way up the stairs toward her room.

"Look Av, you can't just ignore all of this." Spencer called after her. At Spencer's remark, Avery stopped and sighed. "You're gonna have to accept it sooner or later." He was right, Avery knew it.

"I know." Avery agreed in a quiet voice, turning around and sitting down on the step that she had stopped on. She bit her lip and stared down at her feet then continued, "It just all happened so fast."

"Yeah, it did." Spencer replied with a small nod, "but do you really think that locking yourself in your room every night is going to help?" Avery didn't say anything; she just shook her head as tears began to roll down her cheeks. "I mean, do you know how many girls would love to be able to do what you can do?" Spencer noted in a quiet, yet encouraging voice. Avery wiped the tears from her face and looked up at her brother with a smile on her face.

"Thanks Spence." Avery thanked, still smiling as she stood up and gave her brother a hug. Spencer always knew how to cheer Avery up. He was always there for her when she needed him.

"No problem Av." Spencer told her, returning the smile. "So now will you take me to that island?" Avery laughed at Spencer's remark and rolled her eyes, pushing her long black hair behind her ears.

"Tomorrow." Avery replied with a nod, still smiling. "But I will tell you what happened at Mako with the others." With that, Avery and Spencer walked out back to the pool area and sat down at one of the tables next to the pool. Avery explained everything to Spencer about the lockets, the group from the fifties, and how her, Emma, Cleo, and Rikki were going to talk to Miss Chatham about her locket tomorrow. Spencer was very surprised by how it all connected.

"This is crazy." Spencer mumbled in astonishment after Avery had explained it all.

"And that's not all," Avery continued. "Apparently, along with us growing tails every time we get wet, we also have powers that control water."

"Are you serious?!" Spencer questioned in disbelief, raising his eyebrows in shock. "So what's your power?" Avery smiled and turned to the pool. She held up her right hand and pointed it at the water in the pool. Then, slowly Avery curled her fingers into a fist and the pool water started to boil. Avery turned to Spencer and smiled, her hand still pointed at the pool. Avery laughed when she saw the astonished look on her brother's face then turned her attention back to the pool. Suddenly, a large bolt of lightning came down and struck the pool water. Avery screamed and pulled her hand back. Immediately, the water ceased boiling and the lightning stopped. Avery and Spencer exchanged terrified looks, then Avery jumped up and ran inside, up the stairs, and into her room as fast as she could go. She locked her door behind her and huddled up in her closet, her heart beating rapidly. About a minute or two later, Avery heard a knock on her room door.

"Avery, are you OK?" came Spencer's voice from the other side of the bedroom door. His voice was shaky and undoubtedly filled with worry.

"Go away!" Avery shouted back to him, her voice also shaky and her mind racing. She could've killed someone with that big bolt of lightning! She was dangerous, and that scared her. The only thing that Avery could think to do was lock herself up away from everyone else. She needed to figure out how to control her powers; fast, and she knew just who to ask…Rikki. As much as she didn't want to, Avery knew that she really had no choice. Rikki didn't like her; Avery could tell. But Avery needed her help. She would've called her right then and there, but the only number of the three girls' that Avery had was Cleo's. So until tomorrow, when she was to meet up with them, Avery remained in her room, scared that she would accidentally hurt someone with this power of hers. Eventually, Avery fell asleep, still huddled up in her closet. When morning had finally came, Avery got up out of her closet. It was early; only about 7am. So Avery quickly and quietly got something to eat and snuck out of the house. Avery sat on the dock behind the house as she ate, her feet hanging off the edge dangling about an inch above the surface of the water. Once Avery had finished eating, she stood up and dove head-first into the water. She floated for a few seconds about five inches from the bottom, then quickly swam toward Mako. When she had reached the reefs surrounding the island, she slowed down and observed the reef and its inhabitants thoughtfully. The fish all looked so peaceful, like they had no worries.

_If only my life was like that, _Avery thought as she made her way toward the moon pool's underwater entrance. When she had finally got there, she swam right in. When Avery surfaced, she went over to the edge of the pool and sat on the large slab of rock that stuck out from the edge about a foot below the surface of the water. Avery looked up at the cone of the volcano and remembered the night she had first found the pool. Part of her wished that she had never found the pool in the first place. Another part of her was glad that she had found the pool. Avery sighed and her gaze moved down to the water. She jumped when she saw, what looked like, a diver swimming in. Avery started to panic. She didn't know what to do. For a second, she thought about boiling the water, but quickly decided against it. She didn't want to electrocute anyone. The diver was quickly making his way to the surface of the pool. Scared and unsure what to do, Avery froze. The diver surfaced and at the sight of him, Avery relaxed. It was only Spencer. Her fear almost instantly changed to anger.

"Spencer! What are you doing here?!" Avery snapped angrily.

"Well, you wouldn't take me here, so I followed you." Spencer explained, taking off his goggles and climbing out of the pool. Spencer examined the cave in awe as he explained. "Wow. This place is even cooler than I imagined…"

"You swam the whole way here?" Avery questioned, raising her eyebrows in disbelief. Spencer laughed at the question.

"No, it's impossible with how fast you swim," Spencer retorted with a small laugh. "I followed in the Zodiac."

"Oh…well don't ever do that again!" Avery ordered, reaching over and punching Spencer's right foot as hard as she could. "You scared me to death!"

"Alright! Alright!" Spencer shouted back in pain, rubbing his now red, throbbing foot. "Just don't break my foot!" The both of them went quiet after that. Avery stared back down at the water and Spencer sat in the sand rubbing his foot. After about thirty seconds of silence, Spencer asked, "So why'd you come here anyway?"

"Well, I came here to be alone and think," Avery told him in an annoyed tone. "But you screwed up that plan."

"You go off in your room to be alone too. Why do you have to come here to do that?" Spencer asked curiously. Avery didn't answer him, instead she just ducked under the water and swam out. Once Avery had gotten back and dryed off, she headed to the JuiceNet. It was about twelve forty-five when she had gotten there; an hour before she was to meet Cleo there. Avery sat down in an empty booth in the back left corner of the café…alone. For an hour, Avery just sat there. Until finally, Cleo walked in. At the sight of her, Avery jumped up and walked over to her.

"Hey Avery!" Cleo greeted in her usual cheerful and friendly voice. Cleo glanced at Avery's locket then asked, "Did you bring the note that you found with the locket?" Avery simply nodded in reply, forcing a small quick smile.

"Yep, it's in my pocket with the bag." Avery answered in a flat tone, patting her front right pocket. With that said, Cleo and Avery headed out of the café and down the street toward Emma's house. Not even two seconds after they had reached the sidewalk, Spencer came running up beside Avery. "What do you want Spencer?" Avery asked him in a rather annoyed tone, rolling her eyes.

"Where you going?" Spencer questioned curiously, walking along-side his sister and breathing heavily from running.

"To meet Miss Chatham and find out more about my locket." Avery replied with an aggravated sigh, not even bothering to glance at her brother.

"Can I come?" Spencer asked excitedly, a huge grin spreading across his face at the idea.

"No." Avery told him simply.

"Come on!" Spencer wined loudly. "You know I'm just going to bug you until you tell me everything anyway. So is you let me go, you won't have to explain it all again." Avery groaned, then looked over at Cleo, as if silently asking if he could come along. Cleo shrugged and both her and Avery looked over at Spencer. Spencer had a pleading look on his face that almost looked pathetic.

"I don't know…" Cleo replied in an unsure tone, shaking her head and shrugging as she glanced back and forth from Avery to Spencer as she spoke. "Emma and Rikki might not like it…"

"Is Lewis gonna be there?" Avery questioned somewhat smartly, crossing her arms. The morning Avery had met Cleo, Emma, and Rikki on the beach at Mako Island, they mentioned Lewis quite often along with a lot of the things that he had helped them with.

"Well yes, but he's__" Cleo began to explain, but she was cut off by Avery.

"Spencer already knows everything and, like he said, he's probably gonna get it out of me anyway. So he might as well come." Avery pointed out with a shrug, pointing over at Spencer as she spoke and pushing her long, black hair out of her face. Cleo thought for a moment, glancing from Spencer to Avery again. Cleo realized in that moment that Avery really was as stubborn as Rikki; probably a little more stubborn, if that was even possible.

"Alright, he can come." Cleo surrendered with a nod, realizing that Avery wasn't going to give up. At Cleo's answer, Spencer jumped excitedly and mumbled a quiet, "Yes!" to himself. Avery rolled her eyes at him and smiled. For the rest of the walk to Emma's house, Cleo was silent; while Avery and Spencer talked. She was a little worried about what Emma and Rikki would say about Spencer being there. Cleo knew they weren't going to like it though.

"Don't talk at all while we're here Spencer." Avery told him as they walked through Emma's yard toward the front door. "No one wants to listen to your random, stupid comments, OK?"

"Fine…" Spencer agreed reluctantly, sticking his hands in his pockets and nodding. When they'd gotten inside, they found everyone, meaning Emma, Rikki, Lewis, and Miss Chatham; sitting around the living room. When Cleo and Avery walked in, everyone stopped talking and looked over at them.

"Hi Avery. Glad you could make it." Emma greeted with a smile. Avery returned the smile and nodded as Spencer came around the corner and stopped next to his sister. At the sight of him, Emma's smile faded and she glanced over at Cleo, giving her a look that silently asked, "What's he doing here?"

Rikki, who was thinking the same thing, blurted out, "Who's he and what's he doing here?"

"He's my brother," Avery replied, to answer the first question, pointing beside her at Spencer, who waved at everyone. Then, to answer the second question she added, "He's here so I don't have to tell him everything later…well, that and he's just nosy."

"Um…can we talk to you in the kitchen for a moment Avery?" Emma asked in an unsure tone, pointing to herself, Cleo and Rikki as she was asking. Avery nodded, rolling her eyes and followed the three girls into the kitchen. "You really shouldn't have brought your brother without asking us first. I mean, we don't know anything about him. How are we supposed to know he won't tell any of this to anyone?"

"Well I could threaten to electrocute him with a big bolt of lightning, if that helps you guys feel any better about it." Avery suggested with a shrug, understanding the others' concern. Emma sighed and shook her head in disapproval, then stopped and gave Avery a strange look.

"Lightning?" Rikki repeated curiously, crossing her arms and also giving Avery a strange look, along with Cleo. Avery glanced at each of the girls, slightly confused. Then she suddenly remembered that she had not yet told them that she had discovered her powers.

"Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you that I found out what my powers are." Avery remembered, talking somewhat to the girls and somewhat to herself and looking down thoughtfully. After stating this, Avery looked back up at Emma, Rikki, and Cleo and told them, "Apparently, I can control heat and lightning."

"What?" Rikki questioned in disbelief and aggravation, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows. "That's _my _power!"

"Well, _sorry, _I didn't really get to choose." Avery retorted defensively, crossing her arms also, slightly angered by Rikki's response. Rikki had acted like Avery had deliberately stole her powers when, in fact, Avery didn't even have a choice in the matter. If it was up to her, none of this would've happened to her. But it did, and Avery had no control over any of it. Avery was not going to let Rikki act like she did something wrong when she didn't.

"Rikki, calm down. Avery's right." Cleo told Rikki, nodding her head and sighing. "We'll talk about it later, but right now Miss Chatham is waiting for us."

"She's right. Come on." Emma agreed, leading them back into the front room and adding to Avery, "You better be right about your brother." Avery nodded in reply as her and the girls walked over and sat around Miss Chatham. "Sorry we kept you waiting Miss Chatham." Emma apologized with a smile.

"That's alright Emma." Miss Chatham replied with a big smile. Miss Chatham's gaze shifted over to Avery, who was sitting next to Emma, and smiled at her. "You must be Avery."

"And you must be Miss Chatham." Avery replied with a nod, not sure what else to say to her. Miss Chatham nodded and sighed, still smiling at Avery.

"You look so much like her." Miss Chatham commented, looking over Avery thoughtfully. Miss Chatham's gaze moved and suddenly she caught sight of Avery's locket and her smile faded. "And you even found her locket!" she exclaimed both excitedly and sadly. Avery glanced down at her locket, then took it off and handed it to Miss Chatham.

"So you knew Ellie?" Avery asked curiously as Miss Chatham looked over the locket, as if reminiscing as she did.

"Yes. She was Gracie's little sister." Miss Chatham answered with a small sigh and nod. "She was very stubborn and closed up at first. But after a while, she became very kind and happy."

"Did she become a mermaid when you guys did?" Avery wondered, trying so hard not to blurt out all of her questions at once.

"No," Miss Chatham answered with a small chuckle, handing Avery back the locket. "It was about a year after us. She had followed Gracie to Mako one full moon and fell in the pool. When Gracie found out she was very excited…Ellie and Gracie were very close. So Gracie had Max make a fourth locket with an emerald jewel and four waves on the back to make Ellie fell a little more acceptant of the idea of being a mermaid. At first, Ellie was very scared of it all. But after a while she really began to enjoy it."

"How come you didn't mention her to us before?" Emma asked curiously, still a little confused. "What happened to her?" Miss Chatham glanced at each of the girls, each of them looked very eager and waited anxiously for Miss Chatham's answer. With yet another sigh, Miss Chatham began to tell Ellie's story. Six months after Ellie had become a mermaid, she had become very sick and was told that she had cancer. Not long after that, Ellie passed away. Gracie took it harder than anyone, and anytime Ellie was mentioned, she would burst into tears. So Max suggested they make a small memorial for Ellie in the moon pool cave. They all signed a note and placed it in a small jewelry bag in the back of the moon pool cave. After that, they all agreed to not mention Ellie anymore because it was too painful to think about.

"Wow. That's really sad." Cleo commented, shaking her head. "Poor Ellie." Miss Chatham nodded, her eyes watering as she had finished telling the story. Emma handed her a tissue and everyone sat there silently for about a minute.

"I'm sorry girls." Miss Chatham apologized, wiping her eyes. Avery gave Miss Chatham a small, yet sincere, smile.

"It's alright." Avery assured her kindly with a nod. Miss Chatham returned the smile.

"Thank you," Miss Chatham thanked as she stood up and wiped her eyes again. "and don't worry. It isn't all as bad as it seems at first. Soon, you'll really start to enjoy it." With that last piece of advice, Miss Chatham left. For the next few minutes, everyone sat around in silence, not sure what to say after hearing Ellie's story. Avery would've asked for Rikki's help with her powers, but it didn't seem, to her, like a good time for that. So Avery glanced over at Spencer and gave him a look that silently said to him, "Let's go." Spencer nodded in agreement and the two twins quietly got up and left. They headed down to the café and grabbed some smoothies.

"Wow that sorry that old woman told was…" Spencer started, but wasn't sure how to finish his statement.

"Sad." Avery finished for him with a sigh. "I'm going to go for a swim to Mako for a bit. I'll see you at home later." With that, Avery got up, threw her empty smoothies cup away and headed toward the beach. When she had gotten there, she stopped inches away from the tide and breathed in the salty ocean breeze. Then she ran into the water and dove head first into the waves, swimming as fast as she could toward Mako.


	5. Chapter 4: The Full Moon

**Chapter 4: The Full Moon**

Avery sighed and closed her eyes as she floated on her back in the moon pool. She had just found out that school would be starting next week and that worried her. Avery had a hard enough time hiding her secret; school was just going to make it harder for her. What if she got wet in the middle of the soccer field in gym class? Where would she run? Life had become _so _difficult. Then suddenly, Cleo and Emma surfaced in the pool and broke Avery's train of thought.

"Hey Avery." Cleo greeted cheerfully, her and Emma leaning up against the side of the pool.

"Hey Cleo, hey Emma." Avery replied in a relaxed tone, not moving at all from her position.

"We were just about to go see if you were at your house." Emma told her, pulling herself up and out of the pool, letting her tail dangle down into the water. "We wanted to warn you about tonight." Avery opened her eyes and gazed up at the crater with a confused look on her face. She flipped over off her back and joined Cleo and Emma at the side of the pool.

"What's so special about tonight?" Avery asked curiously, looking from Cleo to Emma.

"It's a full moon." Cleo answered with a serious look, pulling herself up and out of the pool also.

"So?" Avery retorted, not seeing why it was such a big deal that it was a full moon tonight.

"Well, we can't look at the full moon or bad, strange things will happen." Emma told her with a small shudder.

"But why the full moon?" Avery questioned, still a bit confused about it.

"Because it was the full moon that gave us our powers." Cleo replied, nodding over at her tail. Avery nodded, she remembered seeing the full moon the night she first found the pool…and the bag with her locket in it.

"So, what kind of things with happen if I look at the full moon?" Avery asked curiously, glancing back and forth from Cleo to Emma.

"Well first of all, after you see the moon you'll start acting dazed and kinda zombie-like," Cleo began, with that serious look still etched on her face.

"And you'll start to feel a REALLY strong urge to go swimming to Mako," Emma continued, the same serious look as Cleo's etched on her face also. "What you do and what sort of effect the moon has on you varies every full moon. But usually you end up doing something that you'll regret."

"But the worst part is that you won't remember any of it the next day." Cleo finished, gazing off to the side as she remembered all the times she had woken up after the full moon and couldn't remember what she had done.

"Wait a minute," Avery started, shaking her head in confusion. "So, if you don't remember anything that happened, how do you know all of this?"

"Well, we've been mermaids for a little over two years now; we've learned how to fight it." Emma explained, gesturing to herself and Cleo and nodding.

"So it doesn't effect you anymore?" Avery inquired raising her eyebrows, rather impressed.

"No, it still effects us." Emma clarified with a shake of her head, "Just not as much. We can fight off it's effect, but it takes a lot of energy out of us."

"Oh, but I probably won't be able to fight it off." Avery guessed, finally understanding. Cleo and Emma nodded and Avery let out a big long sigh. "So I guess I should lock myself in my room all night then."

"Or you could stay with us at Emma's house tonight." Cleo offered with a kind, happy smile. Avery gave Cleo another confused look at the offer.

"But if you can fight off the moon's effects_." Avery started, confused yet again.

"But like Emma said, it takes a lot of energy out of us so we'd rather avoid it." Cleo explained, shaking her head. "Plus, Emma, Rikki, and I always stick together and look out for each other on a full moon."

"That's right, and since you're one of us now we'll do the same for you." Emma agreed, smiling also. Avery thought for a moment and remembered how Rikki reacted when Avery told them about her finding her powers.

"Are you sure Rikki will be okay with this?" Avery questioned, raising her eyebrows. Cleo and Emma glanced at each other at Avery's mention of Rikki. They both knew, as well as Avery, that Rikki did not like Avery very much. Partly because of the whole thing that happened with Charlotte, Although, Avery didn't seem to be anything like Charlotte to Emma and Cleo; so they figured Rikki would warm up to Avery after a while.

"Avery, the thing that you got to realize about Rikki is that she's not quick to trust people." Cleo replied, looking back at Avery and letting out a small sigh. "And not only that, but last time there was a fourth mermaid around we almost lost our powers." Avery gave them a shocked look and with that, Emma and Cleo told Avery the whole story on Charlotte. Once again, Avery was shocked at how everything had, yet again, connected.

"Wow…"Avery commented after Emma and Cleo had finished telling their story. "That explains a lot…" Now Avery understood why Rikki was so hesitant to accept her. It all made sense now, and Avery had a new respect for Rikki.

"Yeah, so we'll talk to Rikki about you coming tonight; that is, if you do want to come tonight." Emma told Avery with a nod, slipping back into the pool.

"Sure." Avery agreed, nodding and smiling at the gesture. "Thanks guys. I know I've probably been hard to deal with lately."

"It's alright." Cleo assured her, also slipping back into the pool and smiling. "We all had a hard time dealing with becoming a mermaid at first." Avery's smile widened at Cleo's statement. Emma and Cleo had been so nice to her, even when she had given them so much trouble. Avery owed them for that.

"Thanks again guys," Avery thanked again. "I'll see you guys tonight then, right?" Emma nodded and smiled in return.

"Cleo with text you what time we'll meet at my house." Emma told her, and with that, Avery ducked under the water and swam out and back toward home. When she'd gotten back, she walked along the beach a safe distance from the water's edge and thought about what Emma and Cleo told her about the full moon. Avery thought about what she might do if she accidentally saw the moon. She shuddered at the idea of anything bad happening because of her. Avery decided after that, that she wouldn't worry about it until it was time. She then started to think about the upcoming school year as a mermaid. However, her train of thought was suddenly broken when she saw Rikki a little ways up the beach walking with a tall, dark-brown haired boy. As Avery got closer and she was able to see the boy better, she wondered who exactly he was. Was he Rikki's boyfriend, Zane? Whoever he was, he was cute. When they were about two feet away from her, Avery felt a strong urge to say hi to Rikki and introduce herself to the guy. But she fought it off and walked right by them, acting like she didn't see them. Seconds after she passed them, Avery heard Rikki call her name.

"Hey Avery!" Rikki called to her. At the sound of her name, Avery turned around to face Rikki.

"Hey Rikki." Avery greeted in a relaxed and casual tone. Her eyes glanced over at the guy for a second then back to Rikki.

"Have you seen Emma or Cleo?" Rikki asked curiously. Avery nodded, trying not to look over at the guy too much.

"Yeah, they were at, you-know-where with me." Avery replied, not sure if she should mention Mako with that guy there.

"Mako?" Rikki questioned, figuring that's what Avery meant by, 'you-know-where.' Avery nodded again and Rikki nodded back in understanding. "Thanks."

"No problem." Avery assured her; and with that they both turned and walked away in opposite directions, the guy turning and walking away with Rikki. After they were far enough away from her, Avery sighed and wished that she had asked who the guy was. She figured it was probably Zane, but she just wanted to be absolutely sure. With one last sigh, Avery put her shoes back on and left the beach, heading right back to her house. As she walked through her yard, she noticed her mom's car in the driveway.

_She must've got off early today, _Avery thought as she reached the front door and went inside. She made her way into the living room where she found her mom and Spencer sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Avery! You're home, great!" her mom greeted excitedly.

"Hi mom." Avery replied flatly. "I'm going to spend the night at a friend's house tonight."

"You made some friends?" her mom asked, surprised.

"Yeah." Avery answered simply with a sigh, starting to walk away toward her room.

"Well, that's great honey, but you're gonna have to spend the night some other night." Her mom told her, shaking her head. "The Institute invited our family to a dinner party tonight."

"Well I'm not going." Avery argued, stopping in her tracks and crossing her arms.

"I didn't ask if you wanted to go, I'm telling you. You're going." Dr. Johnson told her in a firm tone, raising her eyebrows.

"But mom! I can't!" Avery argued, raising her voice slightly, her heart pounding as she tried to find a way out of going to the party.

"Why not? What do you have to do with your friends tonight that's so important?" Dr. Johnson questioned, standing up and placing her hands on her hips.

_Oh no, _Avery thought, _What am I gonna do? _Avery had to come up with something quick. There was no way she could tell her that it was because of the full moon, but she couldn't think of anything else. Although, she couldn't go to the party. What if she saw the moon and ended up exposing her secret in front of a whole crowd of marine biologists? Whatever she was going to say, she had to say it quick.

"It's my friend Emma's birthday." Avery blurted out, not being able to think of a better excuse fast enough. Dr. Johnson wasn't phased the least bit by Avery's excuse. So Avery quickly added, "We've been planning for weeks now and I promised I'd be there." Silence followed Avery;s remark. Her mom stopped and thought for a moment. Avery stood stone still, waiting anxiously for her mother to reply; hoping that she would buy her excuse.

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" Dr. Johnson questioned after a minute or so of silence.

"Because you're never home for me to tell you." Avery answered, having no problem coming up with an answer to that question. After all, it was, for the most part, true. "So can I spend the night at my friend's house or not?"

"Let me think about it." Her mom answered with a sigh, her hands dropping to her sides. With that said, Dr. Johnson walked out of the room. Spencer looked at his sister with a strange, confused look.

"You never get that defensive about a birthday party." Spencer noted, eyeing Avery suspiciously and walking over to her. He looked around to make sure that their mom wasn't around then whispered, "This must be mermaid related, right?"

"Yeah," Avery confirmed in a hushed tone, nodding. "It's a full moon and apparently if I so much as glance at it I go all zombie-like and do crazy things without knowing it."

"Whoa…that's weird and kinda cool at the same time."Spencer commented with a small laugh, smiling slightly. Avery glared at him and smacked him upside the head. "OUCH!" he exclaimed, rubbing his head where Avery had smacked him.

"No it's not cool!" Avery snapped, putting her hands on her hips. "If I end up going to mom's stupid party and I see the moon, I could end up accidentally exposing my mermaid self to a big crowd of marine biologists and end up a science experiment!"

"Yeah that wouldn't be good…" Spencer agreed, dropping his hands to his sides and nodding. "So what are you gonna do if mom says you can't go to Emma's?"

"Fake sick; sneak over to Emma's, maybe both." Avery answered with a shrug. "Whatever I do, I know I definitely can't go to that stupid party." Just then, Avery felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Figuring it was probably Cleo; she pulled it out and checked it. Sure enough, it was a text from Cleo telling her that the moon was going to rise in two hours and that she should come over in an hour to help moon-proof the house for the night. Avery quickly replied the message with an, 'OK' then raced up to her room to pack. She was both scared and excited about that night. Excited because, she hadn't spent the night at a friend's house in about two years. Even though she wasn't really a sleepover kind of girl. Scared, because it was her first full moon as a mermaid and from what Emma and Cleo told her; it wasn't fun at all. Avery just hoped she would make it through the night without anything bad happening. When she got to her room, she closed the door and immediately started to pack. She grabbed the necessities such as her nightclothes, toothbrush, a change of clothes, a blanket, and a pillow. Avery stuffed these all into her lime green duffel bag as well as her iPod and the notebook that she wrote all her songs and poems in. Just as she had finished packing, her mom came in.

"OK, I've decided_." Her mom started as she walked in, but stopped when she saw Avery's packed duffel bag sitting on the bed. "Why have you already packed?" she questioned, pointing at the duffel bag. "Did you just assume that I was going to let you go to your friend's birthday party sleepover thing?"

"No," Avery lied, trying her hardest to sound innocent. "I just wanted to pack just in case." Unfortunately, her mom saw right through the lie and gave Avery a stern look.

"I know you better than that young lady." Her mom told her, shaking her head. "I was going to let you go to that sleepover, but now I don't think you deserve to go."

"Mom!" Avery protested loudly, crossing her arms. "That's not fair!"

"I guess you shouldn't have lied to me." Her mom pointed out, shaking her head again. With that said, Dr. Johnson turned and left the room leaving her daughter standing by her bed with a scowl on her face. Avery let out a loud growl, slammed her door shut, and locked the door.

"I'm not going to your stupid work party!" Avery yelled to her mom as she plopped herself onto her bed and pulled out her phone. She quickly dialed Cleo's number to tell her what had happened.

"Hello?" Cleo voice answered from the other line.

"Hey Cleo, I've got a problem." Avery told her with absolutely no hesitation or delay. "My mom won't let me come tonight. She wants me and Spencer to go to a stupid party at her work."

"What?" Cleo shouted in a worried tone. "Avery, you can't."

"I know!" Avery retorted, frustrated. Getting up and starting to pace around her room.

"So, what are you gonna do?" Cleo asked, slightly calmer. Avery thought for a moment and realized that the only thing she could do was sneak over to Emma's. Her mom would never buy the sick act now.

"I guess I'll sneak out and go to Emma's anyway." Avery decided with a sigh. Avery looked out her window as she said this, looking for the easiest way to get out.

"So you are coming?" Cleo questioned, a little unsure.

"Yep, I'll be there in about ten minutes." Avery replied without a doubt in her mind, hanging up and stuffing her phone in her front right pocket. Avery walked back over and grabbed her bag then made her way back over to the window. She paused for a moment, listening for anybody outside her door. Once she was sure that nobody was out there, Avery slowly opened her window and slid out of her room. Once she was out, she quickly and quietly made her way across the yard and down the street toward Emma's house. She was out, she was free and she wasn't going to get caught. Avery smiled in victory as she made her way toward Emma's.

_~Back at the Johnson's~_

Dr. Johnson walked out of her room in her midnight-blue evening gown, almost completely ready for the party. She made her way down the hall toward Avery's room, putting her earrings on as she did.

"Avery! Come on! You're going to the party whether I have to drag you there or not!" Dr. Johnson called as made her way to Avery's room door. Dr. Johnson paused for a moment, waiting for a response. When she didn't get one, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Avery! Answer me young lady!" Dr. Johnson shouted, getting annoyed and pounding on the door. She paused again and when she, yet again, didn't get a response, she jerked the doorknob and rattled the door.

_Typical, _Dr. Johnson thought with another sigh. She turned away from her daughter's door and went down to Spencer's door.

"Spencer!" She called with an annoyed tone. Seconds later, Spencer appeared in the doorway wearing his one and only suit that he owned. "Do you know where the spare keys are to Avery's bedroom?"

"No, sorry mom." Spencer replied shaking his head and adjusting his tie. Dr. Johnson let out an annoyed, low growl as she made her way to the hall closet. She opened the closet and pulled out a screwdriver and went back over to Avery's room door again, "Mom, maybe we should just leave her here. She's gonna have a bad attitude all night anyway." Spencer suggested figuring Avery probably snuck out at this point.

"I don't care." Dr. Johnson replied, shaking her head as she started to unscrew Avery's doorknob. "Avery cannot just do whatever she wants. I am her mother and she will listen to me as long as she lives in my house."

_Oh no, _Spencer thought worriedly. _This whole night is going to be chaos…_

"There we go!" Dr. Johnson exclaimed as the doorknob fell to the floor. She threw the screwdriver to the side and opened Avery's door. Dr. Johnson walked into the room and looked around, only to find Avery gone and the window hanging wide open. "Oh no, she didn't." Dr. Johnson mumbled to herself, shaking her head as she stormed out of her daughter's empty room and down the stairs.

"I cannot believe this!" Dr. Johnson yelled as she grabbed her keys and headed out to her cat, followed closely by Spencer. She stopped at the driver's seat door and looked up at Spencer. "Do you know know where her friend Emma lives?"

"Ummm…no." Spencer lied, trying his hardest not to look suspicious. Unfortunately, Dr. Johnson saw right through his little lie.

"Spencer Andrew Johnson; don't you dare lie to me." She replied with a stern look, placing her hands on her hips. "You will show me where Avery's friend's house is or so help me, I will ground you for the rest of your life!"

_~With Avery~_

"I'm here!" Avery announced as she poked her head inside the front door of Emma's house. Seconds later, Emma, Cleo, and Rikki came around the corner.

"Glad you could make it!" Emma greeted, letting Avery in the rest of the way. Avery smiled and followed the girls up to Emma's room to put her stuff up.

"So your mom doesn't know you're here, right?" Cleo asked as the group made it to the top of the stairs and walked into Emma's room.

"No. She doesn't even know where Emma lives; don't worry about it." Avery answered with a shrug. At Avery's remark, Emma turned to Avery with a surprised, and somewhat stern, look. Avery looked back at Emma with a confused look as she set her stuff down in the corner next to Cleo's stuff. "What?" Avery questioned, a little confused as to why Emma was so worried.

"What if your mom finds out you're missing and goes looking for you?" Emma asked, sounding slightly worried about the situation.

"It's fine. She doesn't even know where you live." Avery assured her, shaking her head. "The worst thing that could happen is that when I get home, she grounds me."

"Why'd you sneak out anyway?" Rikki wondered curiously, crossing her arms and sitting down on the corner of Emma's bed.

"My mom's work invited our family to an employee and family dinner tonight," Avery explained, walking over and sitting on the opposite corner of the bed. "And considering my mom works with a bunch of marine biologists, going to the dinner was not an option."

"Oh, well that makes sense." Rikki solved in agreement, nodding her head and glancing at Cleo and Emma. Avery smiled at Rikki's comment. It sounded like Rikki was starting to accept her as a person. Maybe they would even end up becoming good friends. After all, Avery and Rikki were a lot alike in many different ways. It was a thought, but Avery realized almost as soon as she thought it up that it was probably too soon to assume that.

"So, how do we prepare for the full moon?" Avery asked after a small moment of silence. Emma and Cleo smiled as they all got up and headed down the stairs.

"Well, the first thing we do is cover up all the windows so no moonlight can get in." Cleo explained as the three girls lead Avery into the front room. There, laid out on the coffee table, were large and flat lengths of cardboard as well as several rolls of duct tape.

"By taping boxes up on the windows?" Avery guessed, raising her eyebrows at the idea. She thought on it for a few seconds as Emma, Cleo, and Rikki got to work on covering up the windows. After thinking on it for a little bit, Avery shrugged. "That's actually a really good idea." Avery admitted with a nod. With that, she grabbed a few flat boxes and some tape and began to help cover up the windows. Once the windows were covered, the girls all got into their night clothes and chilled in the living room to watch a movie.

"Thanks for letting me come guys," Avery thanked as she curled up on the couch. "I know I've been hard to deal with lately; and kinda rude."  
"It's ok. You're new, we understand." Emma replied with a smile and a nod as she, Cleo, and Rikki also curled up on the couch with their blankets.

"Yeah, you might be alright after all." Rikki added with a smile and a small laugh. Rikki's comment came as a shock to all of them. Emma and Cleo glanced at her with surprised, yet happy, looks. "What?" Rikki asked her two best friends, giving them a funny look. "I can be reasonable."

"Thanks Rikki." Avery thanked with a small laugh, yet at the same time, saying it with sincerity. "That really means a lot coming from you."

"Yeah, yeah. Just 'cause I like you doesn't mean I'm not gonna be hard on you." Rikki replied, still smiling but raising her eyebrows at Avery at the same time.

"Rikki, you're hard on everyone." Emma told her, raising her eyebrows at Rikki.

"Shut up Emma! So are you!" Rikki retorted with a laugh and a funny look. At that comment, the four girls all joined in laughing. Seconds later, the doorbell rang. All four girls stopped laughing upon the sound. They all exchanged rather confused glances.

"Could it be Lewis?" Emma asked in an unsure tone. Cleo shrugged, got off the couch, and headed toward the door. The doorbell rang again as she stopped at the door. Cleo took a deep breath, preparing herself just in case she happened to catch a glimpse of the moon. The doorbell rang again and a loud knock followed it. Slowly, Cleo swung the door open to see Dr. Johnson standing there with an angry look on her face and her hands placed on her hips.

"I'm looking for my daughter, Avery. Is she here?" Dr. Johnson asked, trying her hardest to sound pleasant and not as angry as she was at the moment. Cleo hesitated and she made an unintended sideways glance toward the front room. "AVERY GRACE JOHNSON! Get over here!" Dr. Johnson shouted, moving her gaze to the direction of the front room. Upon the shout, Avery slowly walked over to the doorway. As soon as her mother caught the smallest glimpse of her, Dr. Johnson charged after her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Dr. Johnson shouted angrily as she grabbed Avery by the arm and pulled her over toward the front door. "I told you that you were going to the party and now you've made us late!"

"Mom! Mom! Stop!" Avery shouted, struggling to get out of her mother's grip. "I can't go outside!"

"Oh yes you can; and you are." Dr. Johnson commanded, dragging Avery out the door and toward the car. Seconds after being dragged out the door, Avery looked up into the sky and saw the full moon. Almost immediately, Avery stopped dead in her tracks and just stared up at the moon, dazed. Her mother continued to pull at her arm and after staring at the moon for about twenty seconds, Avery slowly moved her gaze to her mother. Dr. Johnson continued to shout as she tried to get her daughter to move. Suddenly, Avery felt a heat surge go through her body. Almost immediately, Dr. Johnson shrieked and released her daughter. She stared at Avery in shock, nursing her now burned hand.

"You burned me!" she shouted, shocked and not sure how Avery had done that.

"You're not in charge of me." Avery told her in a low, angry voice, a menacing look etched on her face. With that said Avery slowly turned and walked away; heading toward the small dock behind Emma's house.

"Avery!" her mother shouted after her, still nursing her burned hand as she followed her daughter. Avery didn't turn around at the sound of her mother's voice. She just continued walking toward the small dock. When she had reached the dock she stopped, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, taking in the power of the moon.

"Avery, what are you doing? Have you gone crazy?" her mother exclaimed, so scared and confused. She had never seen Avery act like this and it scared her. Avery didn't answer her mother. She practically ignored her very existence at the moment. Avery continued to ignore her mother as she let out a deep breath and dove head-first into the water. Just as she did so, Spencer ran up behind Dr. Johnson and stopped, wondering how he would explain why Avery had done that.

"Is she crazy?" Dr. Johnson shouted, staring down at the water where her daughter had dove in. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's probably just gonna sneak back to the house." Spencer blurted out, not sure what else he could say. "You should probably go back and wait at the house just in case." He wasn't sure if she would go with his suggestion, but it was all he could think of. Dr. Johnson just thought about it for a little bit, then nodded.

"Good idea." Dr. Johnson agreed, still nodding as she turned around to face her son. "You stay here and look around for her just in case she's just waiting for me to leave." Spencer nodded, surprised that she agreed to his suggestion. With that said Dr. Johnson jogged back to her car and took off back toward her house. Once she was out of sight, Spencer went back over to Emma, Cleo, and Rikki; who were still standing in the doorway of Emma's house.

"Where did Avery go?" Spencer asked worriedly, wanting to find his sister as fast as he could so their mom didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary.

"She probably went to Mako." Cleo told him with a sigh, glancing back at Emma and Rikki who both nodded.

"I have to go get her." Spencer declared with a sense of urgency in his voice, glancing back at the water where Avery had jumped in.

"You can't." Emma told him sternly, shaking her head. "She could be dangerous."

"Well I can't just sit here!" Spencer protested in disbelief. "What am I supposed to tell my mom? 'Oh its ok, her mermaid friends are taking care of it'?"

"Just stay here and shut up." Rikki answered, rolling her eyes. "You have no idea what could happen out there and we're the only ones that do."

"Don't worry Spencer. She'll be fine." Cleo assured him with a small smile. Spencer thought for a few seconds, and then finally nodded in understanding. With that, the three girls turned around, headed down to the small dock, and dove into the water at the same place where Avery had dove in. They swam fast toward Mako, trying their best to fight off the moon's effects. The effects on them were strong, but they were stronger. When they had gotten to the familiar beach on Mako, they dried themselves off and made their way inland. They didn't want to swim into the moon pool, unsure just what would happen if they were in the pool when the moon passed over. The three girls weaved in and out of the trees toward the cave. When they came to the rocks, where the entrance of the pool cave was, they heard a loud scream coming from the cave. At the sound, the three girls slid down into the cave without hesitation and ran toward the pool. There they found Avery in the pool, the moon shining directly overhead, the water spinning Avery around and around in a whirlpool-like fashion. Avery screamed as the water tossed her around. Cleo, realizing what must be done, stuck her hand out and began to try and turn the water in the other direction to slow it down. The water slowed down a little, but did not stop. Suddenly, Avery stuck her hand out and the water ceased to spin. Avery just floated there for a few seconds, her hand still pointing at the water. She looked up at the volcano's cone to see that the moon was out of view, then dropped her hand down, breathing heavily. She turned to look at Rikki, Cleo, and Emma; who were all looking back at her in shock and confusion. Avery just continued to float there, also shocked and confused.

_~The Next Morning~_

Avery woke up the next morning in her room with a terrible, pounding headache. She didn't know how she got in her room or anything from the night before. The last thing she could remember was her mom showing up at Emma's to get her. She strained to try and remember, which only made her head hurt more. Suddenly, her phone started to ring, which startled her and triggered a sharp pain in her head. Squinting her eyes, she looked at the screen to see who it was. It was Cleo. So with slight hesitation, she picked it up and answered it; turning the speaker volume down as she did so.

"Hello?" Avery answered in a small whisper, so that she wouldn't hurt her head too much further.

"Avery! You're awake! How are you feeling?" Cleo asked happily from the other end.

"Terrible. My head is killing me. What happened last night?" Avery questioned, still whispering and pulling her pillow over her head to block out any excess noise.

"Well, you kinda saw the moon and went all psychotic on your mom then took off toward Mako." Cleo explained in a short, simplified way. "But don't worry, she didn't find out anything."

"I don't remember anything…" Avery told her, shaking her head and groaning.

"It's ok, most of the time you don't remember anything." Cleo assured her. "But you did do something at Mako that me, Emma, and Rikki wanna talk to you about. Do you think you could meet us at Mako at two?"

"Yeah, I can do that." Avery agreed, curious about what it was that she might have done last night. After Cleo had hung up, Avery made her way downstairs and into the kitchen to get something to get rid of her headache. She got down a glass and some headache pills when she saw a note from her mom laying on the counter. Apparently, she had to go to work early and she wouldn't be home until five. Upon reading the note, Avery tossed it in the trash and continued with what she was doing. Right as Avery was about to pick up the pills, she noticed a small water spill not far from them. She glanced around for a drying towel, but didn't see one. So considering her mom was at work and she was too lazy to get a towel, Avery stuck her hand out over the puddle. Suddenly, the water jumped off the counter and flew up into her face. Shocked and confused, Avery just stood there with a puzzled look on her face. Seconds later, Avery transformed and fell over on the floor with an "OOF!" Suddenly, Avery heard the front door open and someone walk in.

"Hello?" Avery called, hoping to God that it was just Spencer and not her mother.

"It's just me, Av." Spencer assured her as he walked into the kitchen and found his sister on the floor as a mermaid. "Well, good morning." Spencer laughed, stopping next to Avery and giving her a funny look.

"Shut up." She retorted in an annoyed tone. "Just get me a towel so I can dry off."

"Why don't you just use your power to dry off?" Spencer asked, still laughing as he got a dry dish towel from under the sink and handed it to Avery.

"Well it kind of did something weird…" Avery replied, sounding equally as confused as Spencer, unsure how to explain it. Spencer gave her a strange look, obviously having no idea at all what she was talking about.

"Like what?" Spencer asked curiously, still giving his twin sister a strange look. Avery shook her head and sighed in frustration at her brother's inability to understand what she was trying to say. So, figuring it would be easier to show him, Avery stuck her hand out over her tail. Suddenly, the water that remained on Avery was lifted up and formed into a small spherical water ball. As Avery held the ball above herself, her tail transformed back into her legs. She then stood up and moved the hovering ball of water over to the sink and dropped it in. "Oh wow, like that."

"Something weird must've happened at Mako last night." Avery concluded, shaking her head; both confused and excited at the same time. "I can't heat anything anymore or generate lightning."

"Does Emma, Rikki, and Cleo know about this?" Spencer asked in a curious tone, crossing his arms. Avery just simply shrugged in reply, feeling a sudden sting of pain as she realized she hadn't taken the pills for her headache yet. So quickly, she grabbed the pills and took them without hesitation.

"They saw whatever happened at Mako last night, so maybe." Avery guessed as she and Spencer walked into the front room and sat down on the couches.

"I wanna know more about that island." Spencer mused with a shake of his head. "How this all happens, why the moon is so powerful there, and everything."

"Well go talk to Lewis." Avery suggested, laying down and placing a pillow over her face. "He seems to know all that stuff."

"Great idea!" Spencer exclaimed excitedly, jumping up off of the couch. "I'm gonna go find him." With that, Spencer ran out of the living room and out the door.

_~Later~_

Avery was able to get rid of her headache pretty quickly; as soon as she did, she went out to her backyard to relax a bit. She laid down in the grass and closed her eyes; enjoying the warm, salty breeze that gently blew. She laid there for a few minutes, trying to resist the urge to just float in the pool. She wasn't sure if the neighbors would be able to see her or not, but she didn't want to chance it. She figured it would just be better to go for a swim out to Mako. So Avery made her way to the small dock behind her house. Right before she was about to dive in, she heard a voice call over to her and she stopped.

"What are you doing?" the voice called over to her. Avery jumped and turned to her right to see who had said that. There, standing on the neighbor's dock, was a boy. He looked about her age and had black, skater boy-cut hair. He was staring at Avery with a strange, yet curious, look.

"Why do you want to know?" Avery asked in a semi-rude, matter-of-fact kind of tone. She pushed her hair out of her face to reveal a scowl, and placed her hands on her hips.

"Were you about to dive into the water?" the boy wondered, as though ignoring Avery's remark.

"So what if I was?" Avery questioned, starting to get annoyed by this boy. "Who are you anyway?"

"Um, I'm your new neighbor, Todd." The boy answered, just wanting her to answer his questions. "Are you a free-diver or something?"

"Yeah, something like that." Avery answered with a nod and a small shrug. Avery was becoming irritated with this Todd guy. She wanted him to go away so that she could dive in and swim off toward Mako to relax.

"Me too." Todd told her in an excited sort of tone, a smile erupting on his face. "You want some company? I could swim with you if you want to."

"No." Avery refused in a firm tone, shaking her head. "I swim alone." At this, Todd's smile almost immediately melted into a frown.

"Oh, well if you ever change your mind, I'm always up for a swim or two." Todd offered with a shrug, putting his hands in his pockets and heading back into his house. Once he was gone, Avery sighed and shook her head; then she turned back to the water, dove in, and swam off toward Mako.

_~Later that Day~_

Avery spent virtually all day at the moon pool. When two o'clock came along Cleo, Emma, and Rikki showed up and found Avery lying in the sand. She was completely relaxed and staring up at the cone of the volcano.

"No wonder you didn't answer your phone." Cleo solved as her, Emma, and Rikki swam over to the edge of the pool. "Have you been here all day?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Avery answered, "I'm trying to remember what happened last night." Avery rolled over onto her stomach and faced the others. Her long, black hair fall down into her face.

"Any luck?" Rikki asked, resting her head on her arms on a flat slab of rock around the pool. Avery just sighed and shook her head.

"Well we wanted to talk to you about that anyway." Emma told her, also resting her head on her arms next to Rikki. "Something weird happened when we found you in here last night." At that, they explained the whole night to Avery. Starting from when she took off toward Mako and ending with the bizarre power change in the pool.

"That would explain what happened this morning." Avery resolved, nodding her head and sitting up. "Do you think that maybe because my attitude about this whole thing changed, my power changed?" Emma just shrugged in reply.

"Maybe." Cleo guessed, also shrugging. Avery smiled at the idea and started to nod her head.

"Ya know," Avery sighed happily, jumping to her feet and placing her hands on her hips. "I'm really starting to love this whole mermaid thing."


End file.
